Lufkin child experts weigh in on early-onset of puberty in girls

Dr. Cristina Graves, Pediatrician

Cindy Stewart, Coston Elementary Counselor

LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -

(KTRE) - New studies seem to show a shocking a trend: younger and younger girls starting puberty. The latest, a study in Pediatrics, reports about 15% of American girls start as young as age 7 - that could be a second grader.

It's news many parents are never ready to hear: you're child is starting puberty. It's perhaps shocking, if you're the parent of a seven year-old girl.

"It's a body's maturation to become an adult to have their own children some day," said Dr. Cristina Graves, Pediatrician with The Children's Clinic.

Graves, says there could be a few factors behind early onset of puberty.

"There's a lot of speculation about hormones in what we eat although there hasn't been a lot of good studied done to prove that," said Graves.

Deputies with the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office served a felony arrest warrant on a man after he allegedly tried to sneak a small plastic baggie containing marijuana in to the county jail Wednesday.

Deputies with the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office served a felony arrest warrant on a man after he allegedly tried to sneak a small plastic baggie containing marijuana in to the county jail Wednesday.